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- For other uses, see Knuckles the Echidna (disambiguation).
Knuckles the Echidna (born day 251, 3220)[1] is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. He was the alternate version of Knuckles the Echidna from Dark Mobius. In his Zone, Knuckles was originally a Guardian who became corrupted with Chaos Force, becoming an incarnation of Enerjak. He eventually conquered the planet, with only a few left free to oppose him. Enerjak uses his powers to extract Cores from his victims, using them to create Prelates forced to serve him. Bored with controlling the world and no worthy challenges over the decades, Enerjak desired to conquer other realities, but found himself first having to contend with the time-traveler Silver in a tremendous showdown before he could move on to the multiverse.
Appearance[]
For the most part, Knuckles appears fully enclosed by his Enerjak armor, with only his dreadlocks visible from underneath his helmet. Upon losing his powers and Enerjak status to Jani-Ca, his age was apparently accelerated to the point that he became wrinkled and decrepit. While he retains his left eye, his right eye has been replaced with a cybernetic implant that features a red iris on a black sclera.
History[]
Early life[]
Knuckles' early history was most likely largely the same as his Mobius Prime counterpart's. The point at which things differed was during his time as Chaos Knuckles, during his attempt to reunify the Dark Legion with the citizens of Echidnaopolis. In this reality, there was no Lara-Su from an alternate future to try to save Knuckles. Regardless, Knuckles jumped in front of an attack on Dimitri, similar to his Prime counterpart; however, this version of Knuckles thought differently about the events that had taken place.[2]
Knuckles' descent[]
The meeting between Dimitri, the High Council of Echidnaopolis, and the Mitre went well, even though the assassination attempt still happened. The Dark Legion was peacefully welcomed back into society, but Knuckles noted the talks went on while he recovered on the floor, using his "death" as a point of debate. At this, Knuckles thought the wrong people were in charge and that as Guardian, he was better suited to the task to make changes with his power and training.[2]
Over time, Knuckles felt the peace Dimitri brokered was a farce since the former Legion and original citizens were still divided. He then took over the Dark Legion and absolved the High Council to simplify things and unify the entire populace under him. To show his sincerity to the old legionnaires that he wanted to bridge the gap, Knuckles replaced his right eye with a cybernetic implant, but wondered why those around him disagreed with his decisions. He began to think about how whenever he did something right, everyone said he was foolish, starting with his attack on Sonic and Tails when they first came to Angel Island, his use of the powers his father gave him, and the current situation.[2]
Knuckles then believed Sonic was just jealous of him for taking out Dr. Eggman in an instant when he had been trying to for years, simply wishing he was as powerful as Knuckles. He found the Brotherhood was getting restless too, as he had to put Spectre through a wall after the unification with the former legion, which he then reconsidered as his Dark Legion since he was leading them to set things right across Mobius. It was at that point Knuckles felt that if the Brotherhood and old his friends would not be part of the solution, then he would treat them like part of the problem.[2]
Eventually, Julie-Su left Knuckles, and though he tried to mask it as just another betrayal, this hurt him a lot. He didn't understand, as she had been with him on integrating the Dark Legion and vaporizing Eggman, and thought it was because he had been away from her, trying to make Mobius a better place. He felt she would surely understand he was a busy Guardian, as fighting everyone for progress took its toll and even the Legion was wearing on him. At the same time, he thought maybe it was due to her getting round across the middle, though she was still beautiful to him regardless of if she put on a few pounds. For all the power at his command, Knuckles was completely oblivious to Julie-Su's pregnancy, choosing to look for her after he had quelled the resistance.[2]
Strained from trying to bring order to Mobius as time passed, Knuckles would attempt to rest and strengthen his second-sight in his chambers, until one day when Remington surprised him with a bomb. However, Knuckles was powerful enough by this time that the explosion did nothing to him, and he realized he was officially on his own. Julie-Su ran off with his daughter somewhere, and the Chaotix had openly turned on him. His spies were inept, the Dark Legion showed signs of dissent, and he fought most of his battles alone, though that did not seem too bad to Knuckles, as fighting entire armies single-handedly was about the only fun he had anymore. In light of this, he believed "Guardian" was too small a title in scope as he was fixing the entire world, and his kind of power & vision needed a better title. As his hubris grew, it betrayed him, and Knuckles took on the name of "Enerjak", intending to create his image of a hero for Mobius. With this, Knuckles finally succumbed to the will of the evil spirit that slowly corrupted him for years through his incredible power, and ultimately took hold because of Knuckles' now massive ego.[2]
An unstoppable force[]
After becoming corrupted by his own increasing power, he took on the title of Enerjak. With the Dark Legion and their capitol city of Nekronopolis under his command, his conquest spread to the rest of the world. He became so powerful that at one point, he was outnumbered by hundreds of G.U.N.'s warships and single-handedly sent their fleets to the bottom of the sea. It was known as Operation: Night Fire and was lead by that universe's version of Commander Abraham Tower, the chief executive of the Guardian Units of the Nations. The objective was a pre-emptive strike against the perceived threat of the individual known as "Enerjak." The aggressive moves by Enerjak and his forces, the Dark Legion, were likely to threaten the sovereignty of the United Federation's city-states within the next two years. The operation was to remove the threat of Enerjak, disrupt the Dark Legion's ability to wage war, and slow attempts by the Dark Legion to recover from its losses. Its forces consisted of G.U.N. Navy, G.U.N. Air Force, and Team Dark. The Operation Synopsis was as follows: A G.U.N.N. rendezvous within firing range of Angel Island at 0500 hours, G.U.N.A.F. beginning assault on Angel Island's surface while Team Dark is inserted and moves to the Hidden Palace Zone to secure the Master Emerald at 0530 hours, Enerjak arriving and beginning his counter-assault with a delay being attributed to intelligence that he was based in Soumerca at the time of the attack at 0545 hours, the entirety of G.U.N.A.F. forces were destroyed at 0550 hours, the entirety of G.U.N.N. forces were destroyed at 0555 hours, Team Dark reported all resistance in Hidden Palace Zone had been neutralized at 0600 hours, and finally, Team Dark reported the Master Emerald was secured with that report being immediately followed-up with reports that they had engaged Enerjak at 0615 hours. That was the last communication with Team Dark.[3][4][5]
A third of G.U.N.'s military was lost, their premier special operations unit was lost, and aggressive behavior was expected to increase. Commander Tower reported all of this to the President of the United Federation, and it was with great shame that he had to report it was an unmitigated disaster. At that juncture he recommended a political approach where in the United Federation publicly branded the attack as unsanctioned and to paint himself as a rogue agent while he took the role of the scapegoat and, hopefully, bore the brunt of Enerjak's retaliation rather than the rest of the nation. He finished his report with his sincerest apologies.[3]
While all of this was going on, the Dark Freedom Fighters, lead by Julie-Su and Lara-Su, were developing plans of their own. Sally Acorn was out looking for the Sword of Acorns and making alliances, but Sonic the Hedgehog had another plan, which he discussed in a letter to her to let her know what was going on. Although he did not trust Mammoth Mogul, he believed that he also wanted to stop Knuckles, and so they formed an alliance. Amy Rose and Tails already had leads on a couple of the Chaos Emeralds, and, with Mogul's help, they planned to get all seven together in a couple of weeks. They succeeded in obtaining the seven gems, and Sonic was able to become Super Sonic. In the end, Enerjak took the Chaos Emeralds so that his power would remain unrivaled, and he soundly crushed his opponents, including Super Sonic.[6][4][5]
Eventually, Julie-Su had fallen during a raid, and Lara-Su began her search for the Sword of Acorns. Enerjak sank Downunda during his conquest because he either knew of the Sword of Acorns that was on the continent or the Freedom Fighters' plan to use it to drain his powers. He then used his powers to extract Cores from his victims, creating Prelate soldiers and used them to combat the Last Freedom Fighters. As time passed however, he desired new challenges to keep his interest, and began to send his Prelates to scout other realities and locate ones that would prove entertaining for him to conquer.[7][4][5]
The Silver Saga[]
When Prelate-V arrived in 3437 P.X.E., it was followed back by Silver the Hedgehog. Watching upon a jewel-shaped screen from his lair filled with husks of his former enemies, Enerjak observed Silver fighting for his life and seemed rather intrigued by the hedgehog's psychokinetic abilities as he finished extracting the core of his latest victim, Remington.[8] Once the hedgehog met and joined up with the remaining resistance members, he became even more enthralled in Silver's unique abilities and his story of coming from the future. Ultimately, Enerjak grew bored of the Freedom Fighters from this zone, who he had been using to entertain himself until then, and he proceeded to finally attempt to rid himself of them once and for all.[4]
Approaching the hideout of the Freedom Fighters, which he apparently already knew of, he used his Chaos based powers to lift up the building. Once the Freedom fighters emerged, Enerjak used his powers again to stop and hold them in place, but they broke free after Silver overcame these powers and landed everyone to safety. Deciding to humor his opponents' bravado, Enerjak then summoned the cores of several Chaotix members to create Prelates and give the rebels a "fair fight." He also summoned Prelate-JS using the core of Jani-Ca's mother which he had been saving for a "special occasion," inciting the fury of the rebels' leader. During the battle, a large piece of rubble was tossed at Enerjak, which he easily broke apart with a single punch; however, it was a distraction with Silver waiting behind the rubble to trap Enerjak in mid-air using his own psychokinetic powers. Enerjak instead broke free of the hedgehog's hold and knocked him to the ground with ease, telling Silver that he had arrived just in time to witness his final victory over the Freedom Fighters.[4]
Enerjak soon revealed to Silver why he sent his Prelate to Silver's time. His comment of whether or not Silver's world would have more "fun" beings like him only enraged the young hedgehog, causing him to rip up the top of the tower he stood upon; Enerjak easily recovered and smashed through the rubble. He then casually watched as the Freedom Fighters systematically destroyed the Prelates and Silver grabbed the resulting Cores, wondering why Jani-Ca still resisted him. He eventually applauded the rebels for their entertaining show of "such violence and drama." In response to Silver's taunt, Enerjak charged straight through the team, taking back his Prelates' Cores, and began adding the Freedom Fighters' to his collection one-by-one after Silver was smashed into the pavement and incapacitated. With only Lara-Su left, he taunted her about how she had become such a strong woman and how she had attempted to go back in time to save him once. During this, Silver broke loose from his confines, and attempted to strike the demi-god with a massive concrete fist; delighted at the promise of a terrific battle, Enerjak smashed through the fist and charged at Silver, thanking his young challenger for "giving this world the flashy ending it deserves."[5]
Charging at each other, Silver, in a rage, threw large pieces of rubble at Enerjak, who easily disintegrated them. Asking if it was his turn now, Enerjak resumed his charge at Silver, who then used his powers to throw him through the face of his statue and off of Angel Island. Remarking that he was rather fond of the statue, Enerjak said that throwing him was nothing compared to him hitting Silver with the island, which he then did, much to Silver's shock. Enerjak then proceeded to summon an army of Prelates, which nearly overwhelmed Silver had it not been for Jani-Ca coming to his rescue. With Jani-Ca fighting the Prelates, Silver turned his attention back to Enerjak. Enerjak would then be trapped by Silver in a psychokinetic bubble and be dragged across the entire island by him before Silver would throw him at the island itself. Though Silver assumed that he had killed him, Enerjak would unexpectedly reappear behind him and remark how "rude" it was of Silver to scuff his helmet. Enerjak would then throw Silver against the pavement and mock him for not being powerful or skilled enough to stand against him. As Enerjak was about to strike the final blow, Silver, recalling a number things he was told by Mammoth Mogul and Edmund, realized that he would be unable to match Enerjak in power and instead began using his psychokinesis to redirect Enerjak's chaos energy blasts back him.[9]
Enraged, Enerjak would keep attacking Silver blast after blast, which Silver would keep on deflecting whilst remarking that Enerjak could still fix a lot of the damage he had caused. Enerjak, however, remarked that the only mistake he had made was not having crushed Silver sooner, and began charging at him. However, Jani-Ca would suddenly jump in front of Silver, stun Enerjak with the Sword of Acorns' magic, and recite a variant of Tikal's Prayer to drain his power in a flash of light. As the light faded, Enerjak was reduced to a withered, old man and Jani-Ca, unexpectedly, had become the next Enerjak. Knuckles would attempt to convince Jani-Ca to give him back a little of his power, claiming that she had taken too much, supposedly so that he could get back on his feet and help her rebuild. However, Jani-Ca did not fall for his deception and destroyed the sword so that he would never be able to regain his powers. As Silver started departing, Jani-Ca gave him her word as Guardian that she would use her powers to restore her world, remaining hopeful that she could restore Knuckles as well, to which Silver wished her good luck before disappearing in a flash of light.[9]
Mentoring Jani-Ca[]
Now as Enerjak, Jani-Ca began to think about how to repair the damage to Mobius and decided to first restore the cores to their owners. Knuckles, now a withered man, traveled to his former abode along with his daughter, the Citadel where the prelates came from. She felt it was still too soon to forgive him or regard him as her father again, but she brought him with her as her only source of insight. Knuckles gave her guidance and instructed her to sit. She hesitated at first, but then she sat down and extended her will resulting in the ceiling vanishing with the entire height of the spire. Every victim who had fallen to Enerjak was revealed to her.[10]
Surveying all of the sad and frightened looking figures preserved by the magic that had robbed them of their cores, Jani-Ca stopped on one man in particular. Knowing him only through his legendary evil, she asked Knuckles if it was Dr. Eggman, as she thought he had been vaporized. Knuckles confirmed it was Eggman, explaining he was not in complete control of his power then, and it took a great deal of experimentation to restore him since the doctor was the first person he stole a core from. Knuckles told her that the bodies were all preserved as far as he knew, but he never restored a core to someone. She found herself not knowing where to begin or even how.[10]
After Knuckles asked her, Jani-Ca confirmed that she planned to restore all the cores to their original bodies, but to herself she murmured that she would if she could figure out how. He warned her that it was a dangerous prospect, as he did not start collecting cores until he had mastered the power of Enerjak. If she were to do it wrong, the results would be unknown. She could destroy the body, the core, or both. A wan smile crossed his face. He told her that he could coach her in how to use the power; however, something so complex needed to be taught by example. As he mentioned sharing her powers with him, she silenced him with a baleful glare, and he shrunk back into the tattered remains of his robes and armor. Unbeknownst to him (unless, as the former Enerjak, he expected it), Jani-Ca felt a dark whisper in the back of her mind telling her to squash Knuckles and take the cores for herself, but she had grown up in the misery that kind of thinking had produced. She would not perpetuate it. She had to restore the cores and heal the world quickly before that whisper grew any louder.[10]
Knuckles asked her who she would try to restore first. She did not know, and then he suggested her mother, only to add that she would not start with her because she would not want to risk botching it and losing her forever. She seethed, but he was right. She reluctantly nodded. He then suggested choosing Dr. Eggman, Finitevus, or any of the other villains who plagued the world before he conquered it, claiming that they would not be missed. She told him that she did not want any more sacrifices and that she was not losing anyone else to this nightmare he created. He told her that she would have to risk something eventually as it would be a waste of immortality to just float there and stare at the walls. She turned to one man in particular, Remington. She had come to realize she never really knew him. As a child, she hated him on the principle that he fought with her mother. As she grew up, she had been confused by his heroism. In the end she came to understand he had given everything to try to protect everyone. She said that he would probably volunteer for this if he knew it could save the world. She hoped she was right, and she hoped he could forgive her if she was wrong. She summoned up a core and offered it to the body, telling him to please wake up.[10]
Personality[]
While this version of Knuckles personality is not explicitly shown before his transformation into Enerjak, it is known that he had good intentions, much like his Prime Zone counterpart, at first. It was only until after his failed assassination attempt that his ideals and attitude started to drastically change. Signs of these changes could be seen with Knuckles finally killing Eggman for good and his takeover of the Dark Legion. Slowly but surely, Knuckles' ego began to grow immensely, accusing Sonic of being jealous of his strength and efficiency in defeating Eggman, as well as truly believing that he was the only person who could bring peace to Mobius. Over time, Knuckles' actions to "bring order" to Mobius began pushing away his own friends, family and even his own Legion, eventually causing them all to go against him. When Knuckles realized he was completely on his own, he finally decided to take the moniker of Enerjak, believing that his title of "Guardian" was not fitting for a being as grand as him. By the time Silver arrives on Dark Mobius, Knuckles is shown to be absolutely mad with power. By this point, Knuckles was rather secure in his hold over the world and was ready to move on to the multiverse, believing that he was truly unstoppable. He seems to address former companions fondly, though this is very likely a show of his sadism and cruelty. He regards what little resistance he meets as little more than occasional annoyance and purposely keeps them around for years to entertain himself. Knuckles is still shown to have enjoyment for combat, as he is immensely intrigued by Silver's psychokinetic ability and is excited at the prospect of facing a powerful adversary who could "entertain" him.
Powers and abilities[]
Due to Knuckles possessing the Enerjak state for a much longer period of time in the Dark Mobius timeline, He is shown to have complete mastery over his abilities as Dark Enerjak and is practically unbeatable. He has single-handedly defeated the entirety of the Eggman army, G.U.N., and every major hero and villain on Dark Mobius during his crusade on the planet, including Super Sonic. During his battles with Silver and the Dark Freedom Fighters, he displayed many of the abilities that the other Enerjaks had possessed, such as teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, levitation, control over matter and energy at the molecular level, super strength and more. However, Knuckles was also shown to be much more creative with his powers compared to his Prime Zone counterpart, even using techniques never seen before. For example, Knuckles could create weapon-like constructs using his Chaos energy, like a giant hammer, a spiked fist, or a solid wall of raw energy. He was also much more adept at using Chaos energy in battle. Knuckles could create huge Chaos energy shockwaves with his punches that could hit multiple targets, effortlessly throw around entire buildings with ease using his Chaos energy, and even lift the entirety of Angel Island just to hit Silver. Knuckles is also seemingly invulnerable as he took absolutely no damage from any individual until his own attacks were directed at him. He was also easily able to break free of Silver's psychokinesis.
As Dark Enerjak, Knuckles also possessed the very unique ability to steal Cores from individuals and turn them into his Prelates. At any point, he could summon a prelate of his choosing to battle for him.
Relationships[]
Julie-Su[]
Julie-Su and Knuckles were once a couple, but she left him during his psychological descent while she was pregnant. Despite this, Knuckles apparently still cared for her to some degree, though apparently not enough to prevent him from removing her Core. However, he seems to have treasured her somewhat even after this event, retaining her Core for the "special occasion" of defeating their daughter.
Friends/allies[]
- Dark Enerjak (possessor and partner)
Enemies[]
- Amy Rose
- Big the Cat
- Bivalve Clam
- Chaotix
- Dark Freedom Fighters
- Cream the Rabbit
- Dr. Finitevus
- Dr. Eggman
- Duck "Bill" Platypus
- Dulcy the Dragon
- Drago Wolf
- Elias Acorn
- Geoffrey St. John
- Ixis Naugus
- Jet the Hawk
- Lien-Da
- Mammoth Mogul
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Monkey Khan
- Nack the Weasel
- Predator Hawk
- Remington
- Rouge the Bat
- Shadow the Hedgehog
- Sir Charles Hedgehog
- Snively Robotnik
- Sally Acorn
- Sergeant Simian
- Silver the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Walt Wallaby
Trivia[]
- On the now-defunct Sonic Universe blog, it was revealed that early scripts for the "The Silver Saga" arc included a deleted scene that hinted Knuckles as Dark Enerjak and Payback Fox might have been a couple at some point in the past. Although the blog does not specify whether the content from the deleted scene is still considered canonical, it does suggest that the Payback's motivation behind the relationship was either an attempt to play both sides of the war, or to get close to the enemy for infiltration purposes.[11]
- While not stated directly until the online blogs and the Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia, it was all but confirmed that this Enerjak is an alternate version of Knuckles. Silver almost stated this directly, remembering that Knuckles is the father of an alternate version of Jani-Ca. This also ties in with the information Julie-Su revealed in Sonic the Hedgehog #109.
- Another hint that confirms this Enerjak is Knuckles is that his right eye is cybernetic, just like another future version of Knuckles.
- Yet another hint is when Enerjak, in his rant, mockingly questioned Jani-Ca about how she went in time to save him.
- Another hint that confirms this Enerjak is Knuckles is that his right eye is cybernetic, just like another future version of Knuckles.
- Enerjak's reasoning for not destroying the Freedom Fighters sooner, was because their efforts "amused" him; Eggman gave exactly the same reason to Sonic during the destruction of Knothole.
- The full story of Knuckles' transformation was intended to be revealed in the story Mobius: 20 Years Later[citation needed], but it was revealed in Sonic Universe #26 that the chaos absorption led to his transformation into Enerjak.
- This version of Knuckles, in his Dark Enerjak persona, was featured on the cover of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia.
Gallery[]
Concept artwork[]
References[]
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #112, "Sega Data File 2: Knuckles the Echidna"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Dark Mobius - Knuckles' Descent
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dark Mobius - Tower's Folley
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Sonic Universe #26, "Fractured Mirror Part Two: Warped Reflections"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Sonic Universe #27, "Fractured Mirror Part Three: Shattered"
- ↑ Dark Mobius - Sonic's Farewell
- ↑ Dark Mobius - Jani-Ca's Ascent
- ↑ Sonic Universe #25, "Fractured Mirror Part One: Through the Looking Glass"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sonic Universe #28, "Fractured Mirror The Finale: Picking up the Pieces"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Dark Mobius - Epilogue
- ↑ Ian Flynn (31 May 2011). The Dark Freedom Fighters - Payback. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011.
External links[]
- Knuckles (Dark Mobius) at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki.